Galvanizing Company Files Permit for Facility

The affiliate, 3328 Fite LLC – named after the address in unincorporated Shelby County near Millington – filed a $1.9 million building permit last week with the city-county Office of Construction Code Enforcement.

The permit calls for foundations for an industrial building on the vacant land, which 3328 Fite bought in October for $325,000 from Timminco Properties Inc., formerly known as Timminco Corp., according to the special warranty deed.

The buyer acquired a 93.6-acre vacant parcel on the north side of Fite Road just south of the Memphis International Raceway. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2013 appraisal was $374,200.

Hot dip galvanizing is the “process of dipping fabricated steel into a kettle or vat containing molten zinc” to protect from corrosion, according to the American Galvanizers Association.

Swanson comes to Baptist from Orlando Health, an eight-hospital, not-for-profit health care system where he has spent the past 28 years. His most recent position was chief quality officer of the organization’s physician group and physician clinical integration initiative.

Before going to Orlando Health, he served in the U.S. Navy, spending five years working in naval hospitals. He has been actively engaged in academic medicine, serving 11 years as a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the Florida State University College of Medicine while on staff at Orlando Health.

– Don Wade

Valero Delays Memphis Plant Maintenance

Valero Energy Corp. has moved maintenance work on its Memphis plant to April from March after a key parts supplier went out of business, according to a report from Bloomberg News.

The six weeks of work will begin April 7, according to Bloomberg, which cited a source with knowledge of the situation.

Bloomberg said the maintenance work will require about half of the refinery to be idled.

Valero announced in October that it would start eight weeks of work at the refinery in March.

The 195,000-barrel-a-day Memphis plant runs primarily light and sweet crude oil delivered by the Capline pipeline, which runs from St. James, La., to Patoka, Ill.

– Amos Maki

Start Co. Promotes Staff, Launches New Accelerator

Start Co. has added Memphis businessman Scott Vogel to its operation as vice president of civic entrepreneurship, and the organization has promoted current mentorship leader Al Pickett to vice president of diversity.

In addition, Vogel will be responsible for managing Start Co.’s newest accelerator, SkyHigh, which will be geared around social innovation. Along with that, Vogel will help Start Co. build public-private partnerships to scale the group’s effort. He’ll also help facilitate relationships with local and national universities and social groups, and will focus on business development.

The SkyHigh accelerator program is accepting applications through April 15. Applications to the rest of Start Co.’s accelerators are open through March 15.

Meanwhile, Pickett in his new role will help grow and lead Start Co.’s minority and women inclusion efforts, conduct community outreach and operate Launch University, a weekly founder development program. He’ll also continue to lead Start Co.’s mentoring platform.

Indie Memphis to Celebrate Fashion Week

The films, all of which will be shown at 7 p.m. at Malco’s Studio on the Square, are “Girl Model” on March 11, “Ultrasuede in Search of Halston” March 18 and “Bill Cunningham New York” on March 25.

Memphis Fashion Week runs from March 24 to March 29.

– Andy Meek

Shelby County Schools Extends Open Enrollment

Shelby County Schools leaders have extended the open-enrollment period through March 21 for students under the general choice transfer program.

Schools superintendent Dorsey Hopson said last month the deadline for the applications would probably be pushed back so parents could consider their choices with attendance zone changes the school board is considering.

The transfers are on a space-available basis for schools that will be in the Shelby County Schools system in the 2014-2015 school year, after the separation of school districts in the county’s six suburbs.

Because of the demerger, Shelby County Schools cannot renew general choice transfers for students who live outside the suburbs’ borders and currently attend schools in the new suburban school systems.

Each of the suburban school systems has its own open-enrollment policies for such instances.

SCS students already on a general choice transfer at a school that remains part of Shelby County Schools next year are automatically renewed to attend that school.

– Bill Dries

Bad Weather Hurts Fred's February Sales

Memphis-based discount retailer Fred's Inc. said Thursday that February sales at stores open at least a year fell 2.2 percent, hindered by severe winter weather.

The performance surprised analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who were expecting a 0.2 percent increase in the metric.

This figure is a key gauge of a retailer's health. It excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

CEO Bruce Efird said in a statement that cold temperatures, ice and snow in the southeast in February were "major factors" in its same-store sales decline. The executive said that the weather conditions led to store closings and fewer operating hours at a significant number of its shops.

Still, Efird said that Fred's did see better February same-store sales in the pet, pharmacy and hometown auto and hardware departments.

Total sales for the four weeks ended March 1 dipped 1 percent to $157.5 million from $159 million.

– The Associated Press

Calathes Named West’s Rookie of the Month

The NBA announced that Memphis Grizzlies point guard Nick Calathes has been named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for February.

Calathes led all Western Conference rookies in steals (1.75 spg) and field goal percentage (.495), and ranked second in scoring (10.7 ppg), rebounds (3.6 rpg), assists (4.7 apg) and minutes (28.6 mpg) during February. He scored in double figures seven times to help guide Memphis to a 7-5 record during the month.

The 25-year-old averaged 14.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.9 steals and 2.57 steals on .518 shooting (.409 3FG shooting) in 36.0 minutes in seven starts – in place of the injured Mike Conley – from Feb. 1-12. He scored a career-high 22 points in his first career start on Feb. 1 vs. Milwaukee, the second-highest scoring total in franchise history by a player making his first career NBA start.

– Don Wade

Mays Denies Status Conference in Schools Case

U.S. District Judge Samuel “Hardy” Mays has rejected a call by some of the parties in the school reformation case to hold a status conference.

Mays ruled Tuesday, March 4, that he found the request “without merit” and denied it in a written order that did not elaborate.

The request was not opposed by any of the parties in the three-year-old case.

It was part of a motion still pending before Mays to dismiss with prejudice the last remaining part of the court case that dealt with the Shelby County Commission’s opposition to the formation of suburban school districts.

All parties agreed to a settlement in which the commission agreed to end its legal challenge of the suburban school districts. The settlement also set terms for the transfer of school buildings to the suburban school systems.